We scored initially via Lacazette, but then for much of the first-half, we looked pretty stolid.

But in the end, we made Huddersfield pay. And how…

It seems we’ve won this edition of the Herbert Chapman cup. If there is another side, then I wonder what he’s thinking by seeing one of his successful clubs demolish the other. Then we’ll see if we can retain the cup in Yorkshire later in the season.

First-half

We looked to press them from the start, and a brilliant inter-play led to a Lacazette finish after 4 minutes.

After that though, well it was quiet.

We stalled, and were very lax and possibly too comfortable.

Laca Scored but later injured

Second half

Well, this was a second half of two halves. Yes, I’ve butchered a classic footballing cliché, but it’s really how I saw it.

Again, we looked pretty stolid in the opening minutes, with Huddersfield having some half-chances, but us looking pretty lax again.

However, our German wunderkind (or wunder mann, he’s not a child…) stepped up to provide a class assist for Giroud.

He stepped up again to score a goal, as did Alexis, and Giroud again.

We turned it on and looked really special, and took our time to have a good game, and really smash Huddersfield.

Impressions/player ratings

It’s about time we really battered a team, and we did spectacularly.

We were a bit lax at times, and this typifies a lot of our mentality on many occasions. However, we also showed our full potential, and this is a reason why we get frustrated with the team.

Ozil was exceptional, and everybody had a good game. I know many would cite that Ozil is not a player who will be all-energy, or get stuck in. But in many ways, he mirrors contemporary Arsenal, or at the least the Arsenal of the past few years. Slick, good on the eye, can be a world-beater on its day, but inconsistent, sometimes disinterested, and weak. The parallels are stark here. Ozil has shown in this game, and in the Spurs game, his true value in being a creative genius. Yes, he is inconsistent, though he is a wondrous talent in his own right. Is he a legend? In terms of his technical ability alone, he is up there with Henry, Bergkamp, or Pires. But legendary status in my view is more than that, and his erratic performances in my mind undermine this label. Still, it was a joy to see him play well in this game and we hope he can continue in this rich vein against Man United and it may be worth taking the 138 free bet offer on an Ozil inspired home win.

It’s probably bad to be negative, but the same mental issues were apparent here. We were very slack at times, and the way in which we demolished Huddersfield showed what we should have done in the first half. I genuinely believed that we could smash them if we turned it up, and that’s what happened.

Overall, this was a frustratingly satisfying performance, and good to see our near neighbours in seventh and desperately wanting their manager to be sacked. I thought he was the new Fergie and better than Wenger?

Cech, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Kolasinac, and Koscielny were all good. They didn’t have much to do in fairness, but coped with whatever they had well.

Cech 8, Mustafi 9, Monreal 8, Bellerin 7, Kolasinac 7, Koscielny 8

Xhaka and Ramsey looked pretty solid also, and were able to handle their midfield.

Xhaka 7, Ramsey 7.

Lacazette’s injury was a negative, though Ozil was the bright spark here. Alexis was himself, in that he sometimes has a poor game heavily ameliorated by a goal.

Lacazette 7, Ozil 10, Alexis 7.

MOTM Ozil and Mustafi 9/10

Man of the match

Ozil

As aforementioned, he was brilliant, and we need more of this in coming games.

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About Marble Halls

MarbleHallsTV is an Arsenal social media account on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Been a Gooner since the 90s, inspired by Ian Wright, then Bergkamp, Vieira, Henry, Pires, Campbell, Rosicky, Koscielny, Ozil and Sanchez. A digital marketer/entrpreneur by profession, born in UK living in the Americas now.
Follow @MarbleHalls_TV